Filipina tech CEO highlights AI adoption challenges in the Philippines

Filipina tech CEO Stephanie Sy emphasizes that AI adoption in the Philippines cannot be treated as a simple software rollout, as most companies are failing to achieve a return on investment (ROI).

Thinking Machines, a tech consultancy, became OpenAI's first official services partner in Asia Pacific to accelerate enterprise AI adoption in the region.

Despite high AI adoption rates in the Philippines, with 80% of organizations already using AI, many struggle to translate this into measurable business value.

A study by MIT found that 95% of companies adopting AI globally have not seen a return on investment, highlighting a widespread challenge in AI implementation.

Stephanie Sy notes that only 25% of AI pilots in the Philippines deliver the expected ROI, indicating a significant gap between AI adoption and successful implementation.

However, a 2024 study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies reveals that only 14.9% of enterprises in the Philippines actually use AI, contradicting earlier claims of high adoption rates.

Hitachi Vantara highlights that the Philippines remains near the lower end of the AI adoption curve in the Asia-Pacific region, lagging behind countries like South Korea, China, and Singapore.

The company cites cultural and language barriers, as well as a lack of local AI infrastructure investment, as key challenges hindering AI adoption in the Philippines.